Business
Mandela’s economic legacy threatened by S. Africa’s inequality
JOHANNESBURG – Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in apartheid jails in 1990 pledging to seize South Africa’s mines and banks. Four years later, his government slashed spending and courted foreign investors, paving the way for the longest period of growth in the country’s history.
The former president and Nobel Laureate, who died Thursday at the age of 95, was instrumental in getting the African National Congress, which led the fight against apartheid and has ruled ever since, to embrace an open economy.
“Only a Mandela could have realigned the ANC’s economic policy from the mindset of the 1950s, with the development state, with socialism, with nationalization, to the world of the 1990s and beyond,” Robert Schrire, a politics professor at the University of Cape Town, said in an interview. “He recognized that for the poor to prosper, the rich had to feel they had a future in the country.”
Yet Mandela’s legacy of economic stability is beginning to come under attack as the country fails to slash unemployment and reduce inequality. The jobless rate remains 24.7 per cent, while average earnings for black households are a sixth of their white counterparts. The ANC’s youth wing last year waged a campaign for the nationalisation of banks and mines, the very policies ditched by Mandela in 1994, and poor communities have staged a series of protests against a lack of housing and basic services.
The rand has plunged 19 per cent against the dollar this year, the worst performer of 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, and was trading at 10.4751 in Johannesburg Friday. “We still have racial unemployment, racial poverty and racial inequality,” said Sidumo Dlamini, president of the 2.2-million-member Congress of South African Trade Unions, the country’s largest labour grouping and a member of the ruling alliance. “Our country is still in white hands.” Mandela’s embrace of spending rigour and foreign capital allowed the economy to expand for 15 years, until the third quarter of 2008, when the global financial crisis pushed it into recession. That growth and rising tax receipts enabled the post-apartheid government to extend welfare grants to about 16 million people and give more than 85 per cent of households access to electricity, up from 45 per cent in 1996.
Instead of nationalizing companies, Mandela coaxed foreign investors into the country. His ideological shift laid the groundwork for Lakshmi Mittal’s LNM Group to buy Africa’s biggest steelmaker in 2004 and London-based Barclays Plc (BARC) to take control of South Africa’s largest consumer bank in 2005. In 2011, Fayetteville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. bought a majority stake in the nation’s biggest general-goods wholesaler.
Restoring confidence in South Africa’s economy in 1994 was a significant achievement. Apartheid had turned South Africa into a pariah state, subjected to international sanctions and boycotts. The economy was hemorrhaging foreign capital, had only enough reserves to cover 10 days of imports and was running a budget deficit of 9.1 per cent of gross domestic product.
Mandela asked Chris Liebenberg, who had just retired as chief executive officer of what is now Nedbank Group Ltd., the country’s fourth-largest bank, to become finance minister. He accepted the job on condition that South Africa would have a market-related economy and exercise fiscal discipline.
“Those were tough times,” Liebenberg said in an interview. “We were heading for bankruptcy. Mandela was very mindful that the ANC having not been in government would not be as astute in managing the economy as it should be. He came to me because I was a banker with lots of international contacts and experience.” In his first budget, Liebenberg raised taxes, equalized the tax system for all racial groups and slashed the defense budget. Those measures helped the government to raise $750 million in 1994 in its first post-apartheid international bond sale, 50 per cent more than originally planned. By 1999, the Finance Ministry had reduced the budget deficit to 2.3 per cent of GDP.
Mandela also persuaded Chris Stals, the central bank governor, to postpone his retirement by five years to help manage the country’s transition.
“We made steady progress from day one on for those first five years,” Stals said in an interview. “Our main task was to bring us back into the world economy. Mr. Mandela certainly made a major contribution to that. The trust people had in him and his policies certainly enabled us to lay a very good foundation.”
Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of treason in June 1964, serving much of his sentence on Robben Island near Cape Town. His economic thinking was framed in terms of the ANC’s 1955 Freedom Charter, which called for the country’s mineral wealth and banks to be transferred to the ownership of the people.
“The question of nationalization of mines is a fundamental policy of the ANC,” Mandela said shortly after his release. “I believe the ANC is quite correct in this attitude and we should support it.”
A year later, he assured foreign companies their investments were safe following talks with then-Chinese Premier Li Peng, who told him nationalization wasn’t viable and that China was considering selling state companies.
“The world had changed while Mandela was in jail,” said Iraj Abedian, an economist who helped craft the Mandela’s administration’s 1996 hallmark economic policy, which won praise from international investors. “His engagement with the role players in the political, economic and financial world brought that reality home.”
Mandela helped set the broad parameters of economic policy, while leaving formulation and execution to his subordinates, according to Liebenberg, who now helps manage charities established by the former president. “Until Mandela set his stamp on a policy I think it would not have been possible to drive it through the ANC,” Liebenberg said. “It certainly would not have been possible to drive it through government.”
Abedian, now CEO of Pan-African Capital Holdings, a Johannesburg-based advisory service, was struck by the attention to detail that Mandela, a trained lawyer, gave to policy making.
“He would go through every document word by word, line by line,” Abedian said. “It was a question of understanding the rationale for every step, weighing it up, questioning it in detail, far more than people would believe.” Stals recounts how after Trevor Manuel was appointed finance minister in 1996 and the rand tumbled 8.8 per cent in the space of a month, Mandela would phone him two or three times a day for market updates.
“He showed a great interest in what we did and he was always quite well-informed,” said Stals. “He liked to discuss the monetary policy issues. He never really interfered, he never really gave instructions.”
Still, the stability that Mandela engineered in those early years after apartheid never made South Africa an economic dynamo. Economic growth has averaged 3.5 per cent since 2004, compared with 10.5 per cent in China and 7.7 per cent in India.
Moreover, the Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, has risen to 0.63 in 2009 from 0.59 in 1993, making South Africa one of the world’s most unequal societies.
Poverty remains most prevalent among black South Africans, who make up 79 per cent of the population of 53 million.
Mandela never tackled labor laws that companies say stifle investment, or turned around an education system that has left South Africa with labor shortages for skilled jobs.
A wave of violent labor unrest that swept the country in 2012 has continued this year, with workers in the mining, agriculture and transportation industries going on strike for higher wages. The unrest peaked on Aug. 16, when police killed 34 protesters at a Lonmin Plc (LMI) platinum mine.
Labor unions and the South African Communist Party blame the 1996 economic framework, known as Growth, Employment and Redistribution, for entrenching apartheid-era inequity. The policy, which was spearheaded by Manuel and described by Mandela as “non-negotiable,” sought to trim state borrowing, contain inflation and gradually relax exchange controls.
“Established capital benefited from stabilization and liberalization measures,” while the interests of the poor and working class were largely overlooked, said Blade Nzimande, the SACP’s general secretary. The ANC’s Youth League revived calls for nationalisation, saying drastic steps were needed to distribute the country’s wealth more equitably. The league has toned down its demands since its leader Julius Malema was expelled from the ANC last year. Mandela did the best he could for the country under the circumstances, Abedian said.
“Very few people appreciated what unstable macroeconomic conditions apartheid had left behind,” he said. “In that type of environment what was critical was to have a credible, not necessarily an instant, solution. Mandela realised what steps had to be taken to normalize and stabilize the economy.”
– VANGUARD
Modupe Asudo
Sahara Group, a leading global energy and infrastructure conglomerate, has commissioned MT Asharami Ghana, a 40,000‑cubic‑metre Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier, expanding its fleet capacity, while strengthening Ghana’s clean energy supply chain and LPG distribution network.
The dual‑fuel vessel improves operational efficiency, enhances supply reliability, and supports lower‑emission LPG logistics as consumption grows across Ghana and the wider sub‑region.
Ghanaian President Mahama and Sahara Executive Directors
Speaking at the commissioning in Ulsan, South Korea, President John Dramani Mahama described the vessel as “a significant milestone in strengthening the infrastructure that underpins the global LPG supply chain,” noting that expanded shipping capacity is critical to improving supply security, reliability and efficiency for countries that rely partly on LPG imports.
He commended Sahara Group, WAGL Energy and all partners involved for their “leadership, technical expertise and strategic foresight,” adding that the project reflects “the power of partnership” in advancing safe, efficient, and responsible energy distribution.
President Mahama wished the MT Asharami Ghana safe sails, expressing confidence that the vessel would inspire further investment and collaboration across Africa’s energy value chain.
According to Wale Ajibade, Executive Director, Sahara Group, the vessel supports Ghana’s clean energy ambitions through integrated infrastructure.
“MT Asharami Ghana is more than a vessel; it is part of a deliberate strategy to strengthen LPG supply security and support Ghana’s clean energy ambitions. It secures an additional 25,000-Metric-tonne stock security for the Ghana economy, alongside the soon to be commissioned 6000-metric-tonee of 12.000-metric-tonne land storage in Tema,” he said.
With the addition of Asharami Ghana, Sahara Group’s LPG carrier fleet now comprises six delivered vessels with a combined capacity of 202,000 cubic metres. Supported by partnerships with WAGL Energy, NNPC Limited and other stakeholders, an additional 270,000 cubic metres of capacity is under construction and due for delivery by September 2028.
Temitope Shonubi, Executive Director, Sahara Group, said Asharami Ghana is part of Sahara’s integrated LPG infrastructure strategy spanning shipping, storage, and downstream distribution globally, including the development of a 12,000‑metric‑tonne land‑based LPG storage terminal in Tema, with a 6,000‑metric‑tonne first phase scheduled for completion in May 2026.
He thanked Yaa Serwaa Alifo, MD of Asharami Ghana, for her resilience and insistence to dedicate a ship of “this magnitude solely to the Ghana Market and its landlocked neighbours.”
Ghana is targeting LPG adoption of 50 per cent of households by 2030, up from about 30 per cent today. Sahara’s investments will support clean energy access for more than 35 million people, while strengthening Ghana’s role in regional LPG trade to neighbouring and landlocked West African markets.
The commissioning comes in Sahara Group’s 30th anniversary year, guided by the Sahara Beyond XXX milestone, underscoring Sahara’s focus on building an enduring enterprise that delivers responsible growth, shared prosperity and long‑term impact across its markets.
Business
NGX Group, IFC, CSCS and WIMBIZ Convene Leaders to Advance Gender Equality at 2026 Ring the Bell Ceremony
The Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), in collaboration with Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) and Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), convened leaders from across the public and private sectors to commemorate International Women’s Day 2026 through the global Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative.
Aligned with the UN Women theme “Rights, Justice, Action – For All Women and Girls,” the event, held during the Nigerian Exchange Closing Gong Ceremony, served as a call for sustained action to advance gender equality and expand women’s participation in economic leadership.
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Delivering the welcome address, Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, emphasized the critical role capital markets must play in shaping inclusive economic growth. “Capital markets are powerful engines for economic transformation. When women participate fully as leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors, markets become stronger, deeper, and more resilient. At NGX Group, we remain committed to advancing policies, partnerships, and platforms that expand opportunities for women and accelerate inclusive prosperity,” he said.
Delivering special remarks, Honourable Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, commended NGX Group and its partners for advancing gender inclusion through the initiative. “I congratulate NGX Group and its partners for sustaining this important global movement and for championing gender equality within our financial ecosystem. Together, let us continue to open the doors of opportunity so the next generation of women can lead with confidence and help transform our world,” she said.
Chioma Uzodimma, First Lady of Imo State, called for collective action to expand opportunities for women and girls. “As we sound the NGX Gong today, let it symbolize our shared pledge to protect every girl child, expand opportunities for every woman, and build an inclusive economy where every woman and girl can flourish,” she said.
Jude Chiemeka, Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange, emphasized the importance of broadening women’s participation in the capital market ecosystem. “When more women participate in the market as investors and professionals, we deepen the market and strengthen the foundation for sustainable growth,” he said.
Speaking on the role of development finance institutions in advancing gender inclusion, Claude Owona, Regional Industry Manager for Financial Institutions at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Central Africa and Anglophone West Africa, emphasized the economic benefits of gender equality. “When women and men participate equally in the economy, our societies function better and our economies become more prosperous,” she said.
Media entrepreneur and founder of EbonyLife Media, Mo Abudu, encouraged women to pursue their ambitions with clarity and confidence. “For me, it comes down to four things, purpose, passion, progress, and power. Find your purpose, let passion fuel your journey, stay consistent even when challenges arise, and most importantly, stand firmly in your power. Do not shrink,” she said.
Award-winning actor and filmmaker Funke Akindele urged women to pursue their ambitions with discipline and courage. “To every woman out there, you can do it. But beyond the words, we must put in the hard work, build structure into our businesses, and do things the right way. It takes courage to take the first step even when you’re not ready, courage to stay consistent when no one is clapping, and courage to hold firmly to your vision,” she said.
The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality ceremony celebrated the contributions of women to Nigeria’s capital markets and the broader economy while reinforcing the need for sustained action to close gender gaps in leadership, finance, and opportunity.
The 2026 edition was organized in collaboration with global partners including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), UN Women, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the United Nations Global Compact, and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSEI).
The event also featured the participation of female board members of NGX Group of companies, Ojinika Olaghere, Fatima Wali-Abdulrahman, Lilian Olubi, Ummahani Ahmad Amin, Amina Mohammed, and Fiona Ahime, alongside key ecosystem leaders including Onome Komolafe, Divisional Head, Business Services and Client Experience, CSCS Plc; Jumoke Olaniyan, Group Chief Strategy Officer, NGX Group; Uto Ukpanah, Chairperson, UN Global Compact Network Nigeria; and Mrs. Omowumi Akingbohungbe, Executive Director, WIMBIZ.
As the closing gong sounded, stakeholders echoed a common message: advancing gender equality requires more than dialogue. It requires sustained collaboration, deliberate action, and a collective commitment across governments, institutions, and markets to expand opportunities for women and girls.
Through initiatives such as Ring the Bell for Gender Equality, NGX Group and its partners continue to champion inclusive markets, recognizing that empowering women is essential to building stronger capital markets and a more resilient economy.
Modupe ASUDO
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has reiterated its commitment to advancing gender inclusion and sustainable capacity development in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, spotlighting a $20m Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund.
The Board made this known at the 3rd edition of the Diversity Sector Working Group’s Women in Oil and Gas Conference and Mentorship Programme, held on March 3, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.
The conference, organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, was themed ‘Breaking Barriers, Shaping the Future’, with a strong focus on building bridges and empowering women for a sustainable energy future.
Delivering his goodwill message, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, described women’s empowerment as a strategic lever for strengthening Nigeria’s energy ecosystem, particularly at a time the global industry was undergoing profound structural change.
He explained that the sector’s navigation of energy transition, rapid technological innovation and rising sustainability expectations increasingly requires broader perspectives, adaptive leadership and inclusive participation to remain competitive and resilient.
Represented by the General Manager Midstream PCAD, Ms. Lekoma Phimia, the Executive Secretary framed inclusion not as social advocacy but as sound economics, stressing that diversity consistently delivers measurable performance outcomes across industries.
“Inclusive organisations are more innovative, more resilient and more profitable. When women thrive, industries thrive. When women lead, economies grow. When women are empowered, communities prosper,” he stated.
To illustrate this point, the Executive Secretary referenced the leadership impact of Ms. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, describing her tenure as clear evidence of women’s capacity to drive sector-wide transformation at the highest levels.
According to him, such leadership exemplifies how competence and inclusion are helping to steer the industry through a period of accelerated change.
While acknowledging the progress recorded, Ogbe observed that systemic barriers had continued to limit the full participation of women across segments of the oil and gas value chain, stressing that addressing the constraints requires deliberate, structured and sustained interventions.
At the centre of NCDMB’s empowerment showcase, the Executive Secretary highlighted the Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund, a landmark $20m initiative established in partnership with the Nigerian Export-Import Bank to provide affordable financing exclusively to women-owned businesses operating within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
He explained that the fund offers single-digit interest rate loans with repayment tenors of up to three years, targeted at eligible companies with approved industry contracts. According to him, the initiative is designed to accelerate local capacity and enable women entrepreneurs to transition from peripheral participation to ownership and leadership across the oil and gas value chain.
Ogbe further disclosed that a complementary intervention, implemented in partnership with the Bank of Industry, extends structured business training and additional access to capital to women-owned enterprises. He noted that many beneficiaries have expanded from small service providers into competitive vendors now supporting major oil and gas operators nationwide, particularly in logistics and marine services, safety equipment supply and environmental management — segments where female entrepreneurs have historically faced limited access to financing.
Beyond financing, the Executive Secretary highlighted NCDMB-supported skills development programmes executed in collaboration with institutions such as the Petroleum Training Institute and accredited industrial training centres in Rivers and Bayelsa states. He cited the training of women in welding and fabrication, noting that many graduates are employed in fabrication yards and contribute directly to major oil and gas projects.
“These women are earning dignified livelihoods, breaking stereotypes and inspiring a new generation,” Ogbe said, emphasising that collaboration remains critical to scaling impact, citing partnerships with financial institutions, development partners, training institutions and industry stakeholders.
He commended the NCCF Diversity Sector Working Group for sustaining advocacy and dialogue on inclusion. “We must move beyond inclusion towards leadership — more women in technical leadership roles, executive positions and industry boards,” he added.
In her remarks, the Chairman of NCCF Diversity Sector Working Group, Dr Alero Onosode, described the conference as a celebration of progress, leadership and possibility, noting that NCDMB’s sponsorship reflects its strong institutional commitment to inclusion and shared prosperity. She observed that convening the conference in March — International Women’s Day month — was symbolic, coming at a time of renewed activity and reform across Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
“Alongside this momentum, we are seeing the rise of women into visible and influential leadership roles — regulators, CEOs, directors, engineers and policymakers shaping strategy and transforming spaces that were once dominated by a single voice,” Onosode said.
She explained that the conference theme challenged stakeholders to move from representation to impact, urging deliberate collaboration across sectors, generations and perspectives.
“Building bridges means women and men working together, turning diversity into strength and collaboration into results,” she stated, calling on industry leaders to prioritise mentorship, sponsorship and intentional partnerships.
The conference concluded with a renewed call for inclusive capacity development, with NCDMB reaffirming its commitment to empowering women, strengthening Nigerian content and ensuring that Nigeria’s energy future is sustainable, inclusive and economically transformative.
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